Mississippi State fans hoist AD Zac Selmon on their shoulders at Jeff Lebby welcome party
The Mississippi State fans simply couldn’t have been happier enough about their latest hire as a football coach. Bulldogs’ athletic director Zac Selmon went out and got the man he wanted, Oklahoma offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby. He comes to Starkville with an impressive resume of guiding some of the most prolific offenses in college football during his career.
On Sunday evening at Jeff Lebby’s official welcome party to Mississippi State, Bulldog fans were so excited, they even hoisted their athletic director, Zac Selmon, up on their shoulders and he was riding through the crowd.
The Mississippi State Bulldogs didn’t take long to go out and find their new head football coach. They hired a man who’s put up some of the best offensive numbers in college football during his time as an offensive coordinator with the Oklahoma Sooners. Ironically enough, he worked under the current Ole Miss head coach, Lane Kiffin, a few years ago. On Sunday evening, Bulldog fans simply couldn’t wait to get a glimpse of Jeff Lebby, the man who’s been handed the reigns of the football program in Starkville.
Here’s the video of Lebby shortly after landing in Starkville, being handed cowbells and receiving a welcome from the crowd.
Shortly after he landed, Mississippi State had their new head coach share a few opening remarks with the Bulldog fan base.
“It’s humbling. I just absolutely love the fact that I’m gonna get to go to work every single day at a place that has such passion….and such toughness about playing football. And I love the fact that there’s incredible support. There’s been great players here for a long time. We’ve got great players here right now. And I can’t wait to get around the guys. That’s what it’s all about,” Lebby said much to the delight of the Bulldog faithful.
What’s his plan offensively for the Bulldogs? “Exactly. I think people understand what we’ve done in the past. We’re gonna be a football team that scores a bunch of points,” Lebby said, drawing cheers from the crowd. “We’re gonna put a very exciting brand of football for everybody who is so passionate about the game of football here at State. You guys are gonna be incredibly proud of what’s happening on Saturday afternoons at Davis-Wade. That’s a promise.”
Why was Mississippi State the right fit for him personally? “Again, toughness, edge, the history. For a long time, State, it was a great, cool, awesome place to go to school. Cool is State. Swag is State. And we’re gonna bring it right back…” Lebby said.
He comes with an impressive resume in his coaching profile
Lebby will become a head coach for the first time in his career, previously being an offensive coordinator on three different staffs over the past four seasons. He is known for his Veer And Shoot scheme, learned under former Baylor head coach Art Briles — who happens to be Lebby’s father-in-law.
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As Ross Dellenger mentioned, Lebby does have experience working under Kiffin and was once on the other side of the Egg Bowl. For two seasons, Ole Miss employed Lebby as their offensive coordinator but when Oklahoma came calling, it was too hard to pass up his alma mater.
Mississippi State fans will remember the Egg Bowl performances, with Ole Miss having 31 points in both matchups, resulting in wins. The 2020 match saw the Rebels go for 550 yards, 387 of which came in the air through Matt Corral.
Everyone in Starkville hopes those types of numbers, and the two wins, are a good omen in the rivalry moving forward. Going up against one of his old mentors will cause a fascinating matchup around Thanksgiving time as well.
Jeff Lebby fresh off two seasons with Oklahoma, Dillon Gabriel
More recently — from a statistical standpoint, Oklahoma was one of the best offenses in the country this season. The Sooners are third in scoring, averaging 43.2 points per game. Five different times was Lebby able to get at least 50 points on the board, with the latest being a 69-point thriller against TCU.
Dillon Gabriel was brought along with Lebby to Oklahoma, with the two having a connection during their times at UCF. Lebby was also instrumental in the recruitment of Five-Star Plus+ quarterback Jackson Arnold, who is considered the future of the Sooners’ offense.
Mississippi State recently saw Will Rogers enter the NCAA transfer portal after spending four seasons with the program. Figuring out the quarterback position will officially be one of his first priorities after getting to Starkville.
On3’s Griffin McVeigh also contributed to this article.